With still over 24 hours until the NBA trade deadline is complete, there have already been some wild moves around the league. Most recently, the Dallas Mavericks elected to move on from Anthony Davis and traded the 10-time All-Star to the Washington Wizards, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
In total, the reported trade return looks as follows:
- Wizards Get:
- Anthony Davis
- Jaden Hardy
- D’Angelo Russell
- Dante Exum
- Mavericks Get:
- Khris Middleton
- AJ Johnson
- Malaki Branham
- Marvin Bagley III
- 2 first-round picks
- 3 second-round picks
For the Mavericks, this marks the official start of the Cooper Flagg era and turns a page on the disastrous Luka Doncic trade. While the stench of Nico Harrison still resonates within the organization, Anthony Davis’ tenure in Dallas officially comes to an end after just 29 total games. The former NBA champion averaged 20.2 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game across this stretch.
In full, the final trade return for Luka Doncic ends with this package:
- Max Christie
- Khris Middleton
- AJ Johnson
- Malaki Branham
- Marvin Bagley III
- 2026 OKC first-round pick
- 2029 Lakers first-round pick
- 2030 Warriors first-round pick (protected)
- 3 future second-round picks
For the Wizards, this is another signal that they are moving on from their young rebuild and are ready to make an effort toward winning. Just under a month since the decision was made to trade for Trae Young, Washington adds one of the best lob threats in the NBA to pair with moving forward. With players like Alex Sarr, Tre Johnson, Kyshawn George, Bilal Coulibaly and Bub Carrington showing signs of development, the organization decided it was the proper time to push the chips in and increase its outlook on competing moving forward.
In both situations, the effects of these deals will be felt further moving forward than in the remainder of the season. Looking at this year’s outlook, the Mavericks hold +1300 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook to qualify for the play-in tournament. On the bright side, Cooper Flagg has climbed to the -700 favorite to win Rookie of the Year and will officially be the clear franchise face moving forward.
The Wizards hold a 13-36 record on the season and remain in 14th place in the Eastern Conference. They hold +150,000 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook of winning the Eastern Conference, which probably is not a bet anyone should be rushing to make at this current point.
This deal marks a change in eras for both organizations. The Mavericks will attempt to fully put behind them the disastrous Luka Doncic trade and Nico Harrison era as Cooper Flagg steps into the forefront of every future decision that is made. For Washington, the expectation will be that it has its clearest chance of competing in the Eastern Conference since the days of John Wall, and the focus will be set on winning moving forward after years of rebuilding.
